When shopping for a used travel trailer or 5th wheel, be prepared to travel up to 200 miles to find the make/model you're looking for and always use standard eBay channels to communicate with and pay the seller.

I bought a very nice used 5th wheel this summer and was very happy with the service received from the seller. He took the time to walk us through the trailer and suggested we bring a video camera to capture his lecture. This proved to be a very good idea as we were given so much valuable information we couldn't have digested it all on the spot.

If your seller doesn't give you a walk-through lesson on how to run the various components of a travel trailer, look for a dvd or video to learn how to operate the vehicle safely.